Heaven Sent
by LoveMachineLX
Summary: With the events of "The Phantom Pain" behind him and a new threat emerging on the horizon, Venom Snake comes to terms with his own fated existence. But first, he has to contend with hers.
1. I

**_"The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?"_**

 ** _\- Edgar Allen Poe_**

* * *

 _This is the end. This is how I die._

Afghanistan was a not a nice place to see one's end, nor arguably it's beginning. It was a place almost ruled with continual fear and danger of violent death in all of its history... a place where the life of a man became solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.

The sandstorm surrounding Quiet was seemingly never-ending. It had been hours since she had left her place at Big Boss's side - if only to preserve him from the curse she herself had brought to his doorstep. This was the only way, she reasoned with herself, I must die here. The parasites must die here. The world must become a better place without her.

Even though she kept a constant pace, she could feel every step getting weaker, her vision slowly getting that much dimmer. Even though her surroundings were bright, there was no sunlight. It had felt like an eternity since she had a drink of water.

She continued trudging forward, not knowing why, until her strength left her and she collapsed. She closed her eyes briefly as her body became very and very weak.

It was time.

"No." A voice in the distance said with disdain.

Quiet looked around, slowly getting back to her feet. A slight boost of adrenaline coursed through her body. Did she really her that?

In the distance, she could make out an opaque image shaped like a body. It vanished just as quickly as she saw it. Above her, the thunderous crack of lightning could be heard and the sandstorm raged even harder than before, knocking her to the ground in a seeming show of domination.

An inhuman roar slammed her every sense, forcing her to her knees. Something was wrong.

"Sad... so sad."

The figure reappeared, this time getting closer. The thickness of the storm refused to let up, but regardless if she was hallucinating or not, Quiet already knew she had to run.

"You are not long for this world."

A brief crack of lightning stopped her in her path as the figure was now in front of her. A hooded man wearing a thick raincoat and glasses blocked her path.

Quiet didn't hesitate as she summoned her last reserves of energy to prime her sniper rifle and aimed it in his direction, cracking off three shots before the weapon was forced from her hand, accompanied by an unearthly scream.

"An overbearing sadness has crippled you. Refusing to let you speak. Refusing you to weep."

The man uncovered his face, revealing a pale face.

"What was done to you was far from natural, my child. Yet you think your sacrifice here will make everything new again. You are wrong."

The lightning cracked once more, allowing the figure to creep even closer to Quiet's own face. A brief flash of Big Boss forced itself into her mind.

"Your story is only beginning."

With a wave of his hand, the storm had dissipated instantly. And just as quickly, he reached down and gripped Quiet's throat. She screamed fruitlessly as she felt her neck and chest begin to run cold.

"Man was never meant to toil with nature in this way!" The man exclaimed, removing his hand. A small collection of bluish matter levitating over it. And just as quickly, he began to crush it beneath his fingers.

 _The parasites_. Quiet let out an unnatural cough while she rubbed her throat defensively. Slowly, the early symptoms of her transformation were beginning to disappear.

"A much bigger storm is coming for you, Quiet." The man said as somehow his feet began to float from the ground. "And unlike you, it will be the farthest thing from silent in this world."

The skies darkened as small drops of rain began to fall down and touch her skin. She could feel them one by one as her body took in the energy. Whatever she was experiencing was becoming more real to her by the second.

"I am The Sorrow." The man said as he observed her from above, the rain coming down even more rapidly. "And like you, he too is filled with sadness... even if he's still only a shadow."

She gave him a puzzled look. Was he talking about... him?

The Sorrow nodded. "A grave threat is approaching those with whom you have sworn your allegiance. A fiery inferno will soon sweep the world." The man formed an accusatory finger and directed it in her direction. "And you are the missing piece. The one can determine the outcome."

The rain began to dry up slowly, and all around her the sand that had turned brown was drying up at the same rate. She briefly stretched her muscles and gauged her well-being.

"But first... you need to WAKE UP!" The Sorrow waved his hand and enveloped the mute sniper in a white light.

* * *

Venom Snake awoke with a start, a small bead of sweat sliding down from his forehead, awaking from a dream that he had already forgotten. But at that moment, he was unsure if it was good or bad.

He sat up quickly and composed himself, a lifetime of instinct preventing any form of stress from overtaking him.

He got up from his bed and noticed that, even in the pitch blackness of the room, that something had changed. Clicking on the light, he focused onto the collection of photos pinned onto his wall. Some of them with Mother Base personnel posing for group photos, one with D-Dog as a pup, Kaz... Ocelot, even Chico from his days at MSF. He walked over and glanced at them closely.

One of them was missing, along with the pin that held it in place. Venom glanced down and saw the fallen photo hidden away in a crevice that the nearby nightstand had provided.

On it was a familiar face that shot a brief sense of dread throughout his being.

Quiet.

Without thinking, he picked it up and pinned it back to where it had fallen. It had already been a week since she ran from him in Afghanistan, becoming victim to mutated parasite that had used her as a carrier. She had sacrificed herself for him. She sentenced herself to die a slow death in the desert in fear of spreading it to others. She would die alone. He didn't like that. Like the loss of MSF, his hand, and the past nine years of his life... she was gone.

Snake quietly took the photo and hung it to its former position on the wall, pausing to remember the possibilities that Code Talker had given him to her ultimate fate. Without warning, a large buzz interrupted his thoughts.

"Boss, I'm sorry if I have to wake you, but we have a situation." Kaz Miller's voice echoed over the room's intercom. "We have an unidentified helicopter coming towards the command platform. I'm putting the entire base on alert."

Snake quickly made his way to the central command platform as squads of Diamond Dogs with full body armor and assault rifles quietly marched before him.

As the sun was beginning to set on the horizon, and Snake made out the figures of Kaz and Ocelot as they issued orders to surrounding troops. Above him, a team of snipers began setting up. The entire platform had eyes and weapons trained on the emerging black dot in the distance. Snake looked down to see that D-Dog had followed suit with everyone else, sitting at Snake's side in silence.

"We picked it up on radar a few minutes ago." Kaz said, breaking the silence. "All attempts to reach it over radio have failed."

The helicopter was continuing to get closer, becoming much louder. It was clear it was intent on landing on the command platform as it began to slow down.

"Want to shoot it down?" Kaz asked casually, motioning to a soldier manning an anti-air turret to his right.

"No." Snake replied, eyeing the helicopter approaching. "Whoever's in that chopper wants us to know they're here."

Ocelot nodded in agreement. "He's right. It's flying way too high and way too obvious."

"Well, it's here now." Kaz said as the helicopter began the final motions of landing on the pad. "Weapons hot!" He yelled as men around him began switching their weapons selectors from safe to semi.

The man known as Big Boss began slowly walking to the platform, shouldering past some of his soldiers who remained fixated on the landing helicopter. Right behind him, Kaz and Ocelot followed suit.

Just as the helicopter completed the final motions of landing, the door slowly slid upon as a woman with a familiar face exited.

 _No_. Snake thought to himself as he recognized his new visitor.

"Easy boys." A prickly blonde in a brown pilot suit said as she exited the helicopter. "It's just me."

The woman quickly made her way to Snake as he expected she would. "Hello, handsome." She said as he stood in from of him, carefully eyeing the piece of shrapnel and his bionic arm. At Snake's side, D-Dog let out a brief confused whine.

Snake stared for a few seconds before breaking the silence. "Eva." He replied without expression.

The woman who had aided and later betrayed him during Operation Snake Eater nearly twenty years earlier let out a sly grin, making her much older face seem young again. "You mind?" She motioned to the dozens of soldiers with weapons trained on her.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, we do." Ocelot replied grimly. "Our little of Garden of Eden here already has a snake in it."

"Would that be you, then?" Eva snarked back, leaning over in a condescending fashion. The fact that both of them played the role of double agents during that same operation didn't escape her.

"Enough!" Another figure emerged from behind the chopper. Snake's attention centered on the new figure wearing the brand-new insignia of a lieutenant colonel on his beret. Roy Campbell took the opportunity to wedge himself between Eva and the Diamond Dogs command team.

"Snake. I'm sorry for the theatrics, but we don't have much time left." Campbell said. "A lot of lives are at stake."

"When it rains it pours..." Kaz said, shifting his weight off of his cane.

"Do what do we owe the pleasure?" Ocelot asked shortly after.

"Well, you owe me a new hospital, for one." Eva said sarcastically, referring to the health center that was destroyed upon Snake waking up from a nearly decade-long coma.

"But, more importantly..." Campbell said, angrily eyeing Eva in order to quiet her. "We have a much bigger problem. One that the government needs your help with."

"We already finished cleaning up some of the messes for the American government. XOF and otherwise." Kaz countered. "It would be in your best interests to get back on that chopper before we throw you in the water."

"This is not an official order by the President or the Pentagon." Campbell said. "We're merely customers here. And we'll make sure your very-well compensated."

"Find someone else. We don't need your money." Kaz sneered.

Snake took a second to regard the man in Special Forces uniform, along with the new patch on his shoulder.

"FOXHOUND?" Snake asked, shifting his gaze to Campbell's eyes.

"FOXHOUND." Campbell nodded, letting out a small shudder as the man known as Big Boss bore holes into him with his gaze. "Do you have someplace where we can talk?"

Snake paused for a beat, considering the two new variables that just entered his base. Both of these relationships didn't end well, but he knew that circumstance must be desperate to provoke such a visit. He gave a quick nod to Ocelot, who took the hint where this was going.

"All units, stand down!" Ocelot bellowed. Just as quickly, all the men lowered their weapons in unison. "This better be good."

* * *

Quiet awoke startled with an aroma of strange smells entering her naval cavity. She opened her eyes to see a patch of flowers cushioning her body.

Quiet rubbed her throat and gauged the entirety of her skin. She felt... better. A lot better. Did that man truly cure her? Was this her second chance?

She looked around to see the familiar ruins that had been the scene between her sniper duel and the man known as Big Boss. This was a very long way from where she had planned to die and it couldn't be a coincidence.

Quiet gazed into a nearby puddle to see that her face was no longer pale.

Strapping her sniper rifle back onto her shoulder, Quiet quickly leapt onto the nearest cliff and dissipated into the air above.

Standing in the same flower patch, a ghost-like figure observed her departure before slowly fading in its own right.


	2. II

"Snake, you'll have to forgive me, but I have to cut to the chase." Roy Campbell said, taking off his beret and setting it on the round table where the entirety of the Diamond Dogs command team was seated. After sharing a concerned look between the two men, Snake gave him a small nod to continue.

"The U.S. has two very big concerns at the moment. The first being the status and intentions of this organization of yours. The Diamond Dogs." Campbell continued.

"How so?" replied Ocelot, who was seated next to Snake. He shifted his stance and crossed his right leg over his left defensively. "Last time I checked, we just got done cleaning up the dirty little secret of XOF for you. And their secret war machine, free of charge."

"On behalf of the government, I recognize that XOF became a rogue element of U.S. intelligence for the past decade. But, despite that, it was still a functioning and fully-funded asset for our national security. From the perspective of the U.S., it was not yours to tear apart without authorization."

"My heart bleeds." Miller chimed in, not waiting for an appropriate pause. "XOF destroyed MSF nine years ago without any pretense of supporting your national security."

Campbell nodded. "I know," he replied. "But U.S. politics is not that simple. The misinformation that has been spread over the past decade regarding MSF has infected our politicians and much of our own agencies. It was only a week ago that XOF came to light for the first time since its birth. It's own destruction is common knowledge to every American citizen who's been able to pick up a newspaper over the past four days. The same goes for the Diamond Dogs."

Roy Campbell let out a small uneasy sigh before continuing. "As it stands, the American public's perception of the Diamond Dogs is, at best, murky and unclear. At worst, it is a private military force that is taking international law into its own hands and is willing to destroy U.S. national sovereignty along the way. Regardless if it was justified under the pretense of retribution. That's the way it looks on paper right now. It goes all the way back to nine years ago, when Metal Gear ZEKE found its way into your hands, along with the uneasy news of a nuke being inside of it.

Ocelot and Miller exchanged glances as their Boss still remained focused on Campbell. "I want you to know that I don't support that narrative, and neither does the Defense Secretary." Campbell said with reassuring conviction.

Campbell exchanged another look at Snake, who remained stoic in the face of the bad news. After a few moments of collective thought and shared looks among the command staff, Miller asked the defining question. "So what brings you here?"

"An opportunity." Campbell said as he leaned forward in his chair. "I owe you my life, Big Boss. I don't want to see this end in an unclean manner. Not after what you're done for this country and the abomination you prevented from changing warfare forever." Snake had a brief flashback of his prolonged battle with Metal Gear Sahelanthropus, a true-to-form metallic monster if there ever was one.

"Snake, we're receiving intelligence in fragments over the past few weeks that is amplifying by the minute. What we've decoded so indicates that Metal Gear ZEKE has been recovered from the ocean floor and is being used to develop a new weapon. The codename is ZODIAC."

"ZODIAC?" Ocelot questioned. "Are we talking another weapon in line with the Metal Gear series?"

"Possibly. The weapon-type or desired end-state is unknown at this time." Campbell said with slight worry in his voice. "Four months ago, a small team went through the wreckage of your old Mother Base that you lost nine years ago. We couldn't find it. ZEKE is missing, along with the nuke it had in its chamber."

It was then that Miller slammed his hand on the table, alarming Eva who was learning on the nearby wall. "How is this possible?" He growled. "We take one out of the equation and another takes its place. What group is it now?"

"We don't know that yet." Ocelot replied in a soothing manner.

"The good news is that we're ahead of the game." Eva inserted herself into the conversation. "We've detected large traces of money movement across the globe. Billions of dollars are shifting between dozens of shell corporations and disappearing just as fast. The trail is vague, with great care being taken to cover its tracks, but it's there and we're following it as best we can. If such a weapon was being manufactured, we have reason to believe that it is still months away from estimated completion."

"That's not all. There's more dots we've intercepted that we still need to connect." Campbell said, taking a moment to clear his throat. "There's a phrase floating around called the 'Washington Demonstration' which is theorized to occur shortly after ZODIAC's completion. We have no choice but to assume that it's a proposed attack on the American Homeland." Campbell took a moment to observe any reaction that the man seated across from him might have.

"There's something else, isn't there?" Snake spoke for the first time, drawing the attention of all eyes in the room. He knew, deep in his heart, that Campbell had a reason for trying to involve him in another American intelligence catastrophe.

"Snake, what I'm about to ask you is the very reason why I'm here. There's one final piece of the puzzle that I need to figure out." Campbell sighed. "It's regarding Operation Heaven Sent."

The room went quiet as Snake shifted his gaze onto the prosthetic arm he rested on the table.

"It was the final mission that you conducted with The Boss when you still worked together." Campbell continued. "And prior to you both going your separate ways. And before you eliminated her in Operation Snake Eater."

Snake winced at the name. A slight sensation of a headache started overtaking his frontal lobe, where a large piece of shrapnel rested in his cerebral cortex. Campbell took the opportunity to continue. "The information I have has been heavily redacted and, frankly, I do not know what it was about. Just scarce details." Campbell said and Snake resumed his gaze at the American officer.

"I do know that it took place at a covert Soviet research facility in Afghanistan named NE-4. And when it was all said and done, it left you a state of near-death with over two dozen Russian soldiers eviscerated all around you. The Boss herself was left in critical condition after she carried you two miles to the nearest evacuation point."

Snake had brief images in his mind of blood-soaked hallways, a manic vulture circling over a long stream of anti-air cannons, of screaming men dying in a pale desert far from their home. But for the most part, Heaven Sent seemed like a memory that had escaped him.

Campbell leaned even heavier towards the table. "It was a disaster so palpable that the political ramifications boxed President Eisenhower into a corner with the Russians and helped strengthen the foothold of the Cold War. No record exists of the details involved or what it was about. It seems that XOF did a thorough job of destroying most of your records prior to FOX, but this one had the most care put into it. Almost like it was a Pandora's Box that was trying to be closed again."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Snake replied grimly. Beside him, Ocelot had a puzzled look of his own. It was his first time hearing of the mission as well. "That was another life." Snake said dismissively.

"One of our money trails ended in the proximity of that same facility." Eva replied. "It's been abandoned and sealed ever since Operation Heaven Sent nearly destroyed it. For over two decades, no one has any schematics or knowledge of what lies within."

"No one. Except you." Campbell said, looking at Snake directly.

Miller shifted his sitting position again. He knew where this was going.

"Snake, I'm not going to ask you to tell me what happened that day. I have no interest in it. I know every man in this business is entitled to his fair share of secrets." Campbell said, wiping his brow of fresh sweat. "But I am going to ask you to return to NE-4 one more time."

"You said you're paying us for this, correct?" Miller asked. "I don't like the idea of a major terrorist attack on American soil as much as anyone else, but we no longer identify with any one nation anymore. If governments want our help, there needs to be a fair exchange. That's how this business works."

"Understood." Eva said, staring at the man with deep sunglasses. "The state department is willing to let go of some of its ghost funding that's been off-the-books. In the great scheme of government accounting, the money was intended for an instance such as this. No one will miss it." Snake's thoughts resurged onto what her role was in all of this. _Who was she working for this time?_

"It also gives the Diamond Dogs the opportunity to play ball with the government once again, to rid yourself of any leftover suspicion the United Nations has of your future operations." Campbell returned his gaze to the man known as Big Boss. "It's a chance for a fresh start. Something you haven't had in a while."

Unbeknownst to Campbell, the Diamond Dogs commander had already made up his mind.

* * *

With a thunderous motion of movement, the tanks roared through the Afghan village with unparalleled speed, drawing the attention of the locals as they peered their heads out of their lodgings. In the midday sun, they yelled out minor curses and the propulsion of loud noise that caused their livestock to scatter from the street.

Quiet adjusted the scope of her rifle to zoom in further on the passing vehicles. No insignia. No nomenclature. She counted a total of eight tanks with two follow-on trucks which she ventured to have supplies and additional people inside.

From her position on the cliff, she slung her rifle over her shoulder and let out a frustrated sigh. She had never seen a movement this large, this fast, and at this time of day.

It could not have come at a worse time. Shortly after leaving the ruins, she had found the cascading array of noise emerging from the east. Her instincts told her to ignore it and be on her way. But, rationally, where could she go? Her encounter with The Sorrow still felt like a bad dream, and she couldn't be certain that she was rid of the English-strain parasite for good, despite what she witnessed.

She had to remain silent. She had to remain distant, but... somehow she knew that something familiar was about to happen. Like history about to repeat itself. A small spark caught her eye from the same vehicle movement.

Quiet took the rifle off her shoulder again and zoomed in on the lead vehicle and saw something completely illogical.

A man was standing on top of it and staring directly back at her through her rifle lens as the tank continued down the road. It was The Sorrow, who remained expressionless. In his hand, he held a small sign with a large handwritten note that she could make out despite being half a mile away:

 _FOLLOW_.

Once she saw it, The Sorrow slowly turned the same sign over to reveal another note.

 _OR HE DIES._

A small shiver ran up her spine as the mysterious man eyed her with peculiar interest. And just as quickly as he appeared, he disappeared as a tree blocked her current point of view.

Quiet silently reflected on her last experience with tanks, where the man she knew as Big Boss fought tooth and nail to bring down an almost endless stream of tanks and reinforcements. She had taken the high ground then while Snake remained beneath her. He had every reason to leave and let her fight the battle she herself had caused, but he didn't. That was his way - taking an overwhelming enemy force and decimating it.

Quiet's way was the easy path. Like strangling a helpless, weak man in a hospital after he had spent a decade in slumber. She almost smirked at the thought. He was definitely not the Big Boss she had heard of. He was different.

But even she knew his luck was going to run out sooner rather than later. Slowly she descended the cliffside and began a slight jog among the ridge, making sure to keep the tanks in view.

* * *

The helicopter slowly descended on the command platform's helipad as a minor fog encompassed the evening sky. A nice cool breeze greeted Snake's face.

Snake quietly walked towards the platform, taking a moment to re-check the amount of rounds in his handgun's magazine before the weapon back into its holster.

"You're not serious, are you?" The voice of Miller rang from behind Snake, along with the familiar patter of his walking crutch. "You just got done dealing with another superweapon, you don't owe Campbell a thing right now."

"He's not stopping a war. Or starting one." Ocelot said as he followed the duo. "He's just doing a bit of recon. Then he's coming back. Am I right?"

"Boss." Miller said, following in closer behind him. "you have to promise me one thing after this little gig is over."

Snake turned and faced his friend of over a decade. "Promise me you'll take some time off when you get back."

If he hadn't been so tired, Snake might've grinned at the thought. His body felt like a train wreck; at this point, his bruises had bruises. But he never let small annoyances stop him from doing what needed to be done.

"He's right, you know." Ocelot chimed in, emerging from behind Miller and handing Big Boss his usual assault rifle. "You've been going non-stop for the past few months. Let's face it, you're not that young anymore." Snake's eyebrows shifted downward to which Ocelot recoiled. "I mean... the world can take care of itself for a change. We've got plenty of men who are more than willing to take care of business while you get some R&R."

Snake checked the contents of the assault rifle's magazine and found it satisfactory before inserting it back in the weapon. Above me, the rotors of the chopper continued to churn. "We're not chasing phantoms anymore, Boss." Miller said. "Remember that your health assessment by Code Talker was borderline. If there was a time to take a breather, it's now."

Snake took a moment to regard Miller's train of thought before giving an acknowledging nod. A week ago, the man was fueled by vengeance. Here, it was only concern for his friend. Times really were changing... and maybe for the better.

"Campbell and Eva will set up a small relay here at Mother Base. They'll be your main points of contact for this mission but, don't worry, I'll still be running ops." Miller said as Snake shot him a serious look.

"Watch her." Snake said.

"Roger. I won't let that Eva woman out of my sight." Miller replied. "I could sense some serious history between you two."

"One more thing." Ocelot said, handing Snake a cassette. "If you're going to cram yourself into a tight space for a couple hours, at least take the opportunity to get with the times. It's the 80's now, Rock 'N Roll is the new life-force of the planet."

Snake observed the cassette for a moment before turning it over and revealing the written-on label.

 _Quiet Mix, # 4_

Ocelot took notice of his boss's long pause and took a more sympathetic tone. "It was among her personal effects left in her cell. Might make the flight a little bit more engaging than your normal brooding posture."

Snake reflected for a moment before stashing it away on his belt.

"Good luck, Boss." Miller said.

"Kaz." Snake said suddenly.

"Yeah, Boss?"

"Have some of those burgers of yours ready when I get back. It's time we all had some R&R around here. Inform the men."

Miller couldn't help but smile. "You got it, Boss."

With that exchange, Snake shut the door and the helicopter was on its way back to Afghanistan.


End file.
